


Pink is for Admiration

by Sybariticfanfiction (SybariticReyna)



Category: Darksiders (Video Games)
Genre: Cultural Differences I Guess, Established Relationship, Fluff, Gen, Hair Dyeing, Multi, Nephilim Are Weird, Romantic Fluff, They Love Each Other A Whole Lot, War Is Weird, dying?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-18
Updated: 2018-08-18
Packaged: 2019-06-29 01:57:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15719574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SybariticReyna/pseuds/Sybariticfanfiction
Summary: reader dyes their hair and War is perplexed by human aesthetics





	Pink is for Admiration

For how much War hated the Watcher, he does almost as much "watching" as it once did. You've long since gotten used to it, but it's still a pretty odd habit of his. 

 

You can just barely see him out of the corner of your eyes as you separate another section of hair out, checking in mirror to make sure it's even. You've gotten better at doing it yourself over the years, but it's still a pain in the ass sometimes. 

 

And you have a perfectly healthy Horseman watching your every move rather than assisting in any way, which is… annoying? Its  _ weird,  _ but not really Unpleasant. Just War being himself. 

 

"Do you need something?" You ask him distractedly, scooping a dollop of dye onto your brush. The vivid pink looks almost red under the bathroom light fixtures, but you have faith it'll lighten up. Not that you're particularly offended by red, you think, glancing over at War. 

 

"Why did you make it white first?" He asks.    


 

"It" being your hair, presumably. You purse your lips. "Darker colors don't take to dye as well, and if it's dryer it works even better." Well, not quite "dryer" but you don't have the patience to explain that the lightener damages the hair so it absorbs more color before the conditioner heals it. War would no doubt want a full explanation and not even you fully understand the chemical nonsense going on.    


 

"Why do you dye it then?" He sounds perplexed, but you're a little too busy to try and puzzle out why hair dye of all things is confusing your local nephilim.    


 

"Like. In general or..." You say slowly.    


 

"In general."    


 

"Think it's pretty." You shrug. "Why? Do you not like it?"    


 

War makes a face. "Your appearance is of little concern to me."    


 

You know it doesn't mean it in a mean way, but you feel compelled to respond, "Rude." 

 

He makes an even worse face. "I don't... You know what I mean." 

 

"It would be nice to hear, regardless." You prompt. 

 

"I mean my affection for you is not dependant upon how attractive you are in human standards." He says it like you've got ChaosEater pressed up against his throat. As if you could actually hold the thing, or something. 

  
You hum in satisfaction, glancing at your now fully dyed hair and the small amount of dye left in the bowl. You could just incorporate it into your hair while you pull it into clip, or... 

 

"Hey, War." 

 

You get a grunt in return, as if by forcing him to talk about his gross romantic feelings for you you've overcharged his daily words. 

 

"What would you say to a streak of pink?" You wouldn’t offer any of his other siblings, seeing as you’re aware of how picky they are aesthetically. And you don’t really find the idea of matching  _ them  _ all that appealing. But with War, you think it’d be… cute. 

 

He hesitates, and you jump on it. “Please?” You set the brush down and rest your ungloved hand on his forearm. “It’s only semi-permanent so it’ll wash out, and I’m not even going to lighten it.” 

 

He gets down on one knee with a grumble that would be intimidating if not for the circumstances. “ _ One _ .” He says, as if expecting you to get a little too excited and mix up even more dye just for him. 

 

(Well. You might’ve, if he consented. You would ask first, at the very least) 

 

As you consider where to put the streak, you think, somewhat distantly, how strange it is how easily War, youngest and fiercest of the Horsemen, kneels before you, a  _ human _ . 

 

Armies of demons have failed to get him to kneel, and for you, all it takes is a simple request. 

 

You can’t help the stupidly soft smile gracing your lips, or resist the urge to remind him, “I love you.” 

 

War snorts a laugh, looking away. “Is this part of the dying process?” 

 

“Yup.” You pop the ‘p’ sound, just to annoy him a little. “It’s a Secret Hair-Dying Technique. Now stay still.” 

 

Tilting his face to the side, you section out a chunk just behind his ear. He lets you do so with minimal effort, and even holds the piece of hair for you when you run to the kitchen and grab the tinfoil. 

 

“You don’t use that.” He says when you return. 

 

You shrug as you measure out a stripe of foil. You’re glad his hair is so straight, with curly hair it's much harder to know how long it is until its wet. His is easy-peasy. “I would if I were giving myself streaks. Its to keep the dye contained. Plus, it conducts heat which is good when you’re doing highlights and stuff. This stuff isn’t heat activated though so…” 

 

“Heat activated.” He repeats, sounding perplexed. 

 

“I… honestly don’t know all the chemical nonsense.” You admit after a moment. “I just know that lighteners work better when you lock in the heat.” You begin painting on the last of your dye, noting that his hair color makes it very easy to see if you’ve missed a bit. 

 

“You? Not know something?” War says, raising an eyebrow. 

 

It takes you a moment to realize he’s  _ teasing you. _ War. Sassing  _ you.  _ He’s never done that before, that you can recall, and you’re caught between amusement and shock even as you tell him as irritably as you can manage, “ _ Fuck off. _ ” 

 

(It's hard to be intimidating as you carefully fold the tinfoil around his hair and then in on itself, forming a little square that you can easily clip, but you try your damndest) 

 

War clearly doesn’t appreciate your attempt, as he smugly continues, “You told me to sit still.” 

 

_ God dammit.  _

 

“You are the worst Horseman.” You reply, pushing his shoulder. “Go. Now you’ve just gotta wait a few hours and wash it out.” Idly, you begin cleaning up. First, you throw away the glove and wash the bowl/brush combo. 

 

“You’re helping with that.” He doesn’t say it like a question, but you roll your eyes and nod anyway. 

 

“Sure. Not like dye is that hard to get out though.” You’ll have to use extra conditioner today though, and maybe leave it in longer, but War won’t have that issue. 

 

War remains on the floor, gazing up at you with an expression you can’t quite place. “Up” used loosely, in this case, considering he’s just  _ barely  _ shorter than you, even down on his knees. Fucking Nephilim are just so…  _ big. _

 

You bring your hands up to his cheeks, cupping his face. “What?” 

 

He grimaces, inadvertently tempting you to run the pad of your thumb over his canines. It's such a  _ weird  _ fucking impulse, and yet every time he flashes them fangs…

 

He’s, blessedly, completely oblivious to this train of thought as he leans into your palm and says disgruntledly, “Flirting is… difficult.”

 

Oh. 

 

_ Oh.  _

 

First the teasing, now flirting? War is feeling adventurous today. 

 

“Was that your idea of flirting, Horseman? Asking if I’ll  _ help you _ ?” You ask, smiling. You lean forward, close enough to be almost nose to nose. “I think, what’s most important for that to work, is what  _ kind  _ of help you’re asking for.” 

 

His lite-brite eyes narrow. 

 

You don’t really  _ expect  _ a reply, let alone a kiss, but you’re happy to receive it. He kisses hurriedly, like you don’t have all the time in the world to… do whatever it is he’s gunning for. 

 

It’s rare that War makes the first move, after all, and you can’t help but wonder if he has a specific plan in place for how this evening is going to go. 

 

Not that you feel particularly  _ attractive  _ with your dye soaked hair pulled into a bun, your fingers stained with pink despite your best attempts. You’re even wearing your “shitty dye day” tank top. 

 

‘course, like he said before, you suppose human aesthetics don’t matter to War. 

 

War brings one giant hand up to cover yours, his eyebrows pulling together. “Are you well?” 

 

You must’ve taken too long to respond. You nod, flashing a smile. “I’m good! How could I not be, with you here?” 

 

He looks away, unable to meet your eyes after such a declaration. 

 

_ He’s flustered.  _ How cute. You kiss him, all soft and gentle so he has time to work past his embarrassment. He’s bad at positive emotions, and the  _ why  _ breaks your heart, but you also love love  _ love  _ being the one who gets to be here while he figures it out. 

 

He kisses you back after a moment, heavy hands falling onto your waist. 

 

It takes… a solid thirty seconds of reasoning with yourself to pull away, trying to get enough air back in your lungs to say, “We should-- we have to wait until we wash out the dye.”

 

War growls. “How long does that take?” 

 

“I usually leave it in for a few hours before--” Your reply is cut off by War’s hands moving lower as he stands up, taking you with him in one graceful movement. You’re mostly used to being picked up by the four at any time throughout the day, but in the middle of a sentence? “ _ War _ .” You scold. 

 

“Do you have a towel?” He responds, completely ignoring your tone. 

 

“For  _ what? _ ” You motion towards the cabinet anyway. “Throwaway ones are on the bottom, nice ones are on the top.” 

 

“So you can lay down.” He says bluntly. 

 

“So I can…  _ War,  _ is this your way of propositioning me? Because if it  _ is,  _ I should put on one of the cap things. So most of the dye stays in my hair and doesn’t get absorbed by the towel.” 

 

He grins wolfishly. “Good.” 

 

... _ good. _

**Author's Note:**

> the nsfw ending is War eating the human out til they cant see straight and then having to drag them to the shower bc theyre lazy and content and like cuddling 
> 
> but anyways. Lord Help Me I'm Back On My (darksiders/reader) Bullshit 
> 
> I've been thinking abt buying the preorder of darksiders 3 even tho i dont rly like the Fury redesign. i've sorta accepted i'm always going to come back to darksiders though bc its been. such a large part of my life these last few yrs and I'm still extremely attached to it. 
> 
> l8ly tho I've gotten back into ovw & fire emblem plus my brovyle made me read jojos so ive fallen into that Hellscape of a series (i like the Gyjo and Hermes/Jolyne/FF best) 
> 
> oh ALSO ive forgotten 2 mention this but i forgot my password so as of rn my tumblrs Dead :// sorry 2 the ppl who messaged it w/o realizing


End file.
